


Family Christmas

by FandomFluid



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Christmas Dinner, Fluffy, Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21963814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomFluid/pseuds/FandomFluid
Summary: Yuki's never had a proper family Christmas celebration. Tohru's out to fix that!
Relationships: Honda Tohru & Sohma Yuki
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10
Collections: Giving and Receiving: A Fruits Basket Exchange





	Family Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of the Furuba Secret Santa exchange for tumblr user Kumeko!!

Yuki woke up, naturally, to the smell of food wafting through the house. His hair rumpled and his pajamas twisted around his body from squirming in his sleep, he sat up and stared into space for what could have been a few seconds or a couple of minutes. Then, he finally built up the will to get out of the bed, push his feet into slippers, and pull on a warm robe over his pajamas. He finger-combed his hair and fixed his bangs before stepping out of his room and drowsily following the smells down the stairs and into the kitchen. 

At nearly halfway through the day already, Shigure was out galavanting somewhere. Yuki wasn’t sure he necessarily wanted to know exactly what the guy was up to. Kyo was probably out on some mountain trying to punch a tree in half or whatever muscle headed freaks like him did for fun.

He wondered if Tohru had made breakfast for everyone. While he’d never seen Kyo try to cook, the guy was so damn awful and literally everything else that he couldn’t imagine the guy knowing how to even work a rice cooker. It was already closer to lunch than breakfast. Part of him hoped she hadn’t made it so he wouldn’t look so rude as to sleep through it all. 

Tohru was humming and stopped when Yuki shambled into the room, rubbing his eyes. “Oh! Good morning, Yuki!” She said with a smile. “I hope I wasn’t making too much noise. I didn’t wake you up did I?” 

Yuki was too tired to feel competent enough to dispel Tohru Honda’s nearly constant anxiety. At least not properly. He wondered if green tea had any caffeine in it. 

“No, you’re fine.” He replied slowly as he blinked awake a bit more and just watched the girl for a bit. 

Tohru went back to smiling. “Oh, good! Did you sleep well?” 

“Huh?” Yuki asked, moving around the kitchen to find the green tea. “Oh, yes. Your food smells good.” 

“Thanks! I’m trying to make a lot because Arisa tends to eat and eat and eat.” Tohru chirped. “Let me know if I’m in your way at all.” 

“Uotani‘s coming over?” Yuki asked as he started looking for the box of green tea.

“Oh, yes! She and Saki are coming over for Christmas today.” 

“Ah,” Yuki said, taking a moment to register that

Wait. Christmas was generally a holiday for lovers in Japan. Maybe some families would celebrate with their kids, but it was mostly a romantic thing. 

“Um, Miss Honda, can I ask why you’re having a Christmas celebration with your friends?”

“Well, because it’s fun!” She replied. “Mom always used to invite them over before, so we decided to keep the tradition going. Just because we’re missing a member doesn’t mean we aren’t each other’s family.” 

Yuki was trying to understand, but it was still early, and he was still too tired and hungry to think clearly. 

“Family isn’t limited to bloodlines. It’s about relationships, I think.” Tohru continued. 

“I see,” Yuki replied softly. “Well, I’ll try to stay out of your way, then.”

“Yuki, do the Sohma’s celebrate Christmas?” Tohru asked curiously. 

“It all depends. It varies from branch to branch. My parents never celebrated it with us, and there wasn’t anything special done for Christmas in the main house. So, I’ve never really done anything special for it.” Yuki replied honestly. 

“Oh? So you really don’t have any Christmas memories at all?” Tohru asked with a frown. 

That wasn’t totally true. Yuki had Christmas memories, all of which he’d love to forget. There were all those Christmases he’d spent shut away in the main house, coughing, but trying not to cough too loud. When the main house was still new and foreign, he’d asked an elderly maid about Christmas dinners and gifts. 

“What do you need with presents?” the woman had said. “Just ask for what you want, and if you deserve it, you’ll get it.” 

That turned out to be a lie. Or some sort of cruel prank. Maybe the judge of how much he deserved had been Akito, rather than any of the adults around, who’d simply look at him with pity and move on with their days. 

Then there came all the Christmases where he’d look out the window of his room in the main house and watch the older Sohma kids talk and laugh about the things their parents gave them, the things they would give the girls in their class, or each other. Ayame always got Christmas gifts. It took Yuki a while to realize that they weren’t from their parents. 

“No, not really,” he replied to Tohru. He didn’t feel great about the lie, but he didn’t want to tell her the truth, either. 

“Do.. do you want to join us?” Tohru asked as Yuki finally found the green tea box. It did have caffeine in it. 

“I wouldn’t want to impose. It’s alright, Miss Honda. But thank you.” He replied. 

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all. Besides, we always have room for one more!” Tohru insisted. “Are you sure you don’t want to?” 

Yuki really wanted to. He had nothing else to do but study that day and he really didn’t want to do that. He’d spent the better half of the previous night bent over a textbook that one more work about Freudian theory might make his head explode. 

A special meal with Tohru, who he liked to think he knew pretty well, and her friends, who he barely knew at all, sounded like a good way to break the monotony. Plus, Tohru’s food was always pretty good. And, maybe for just a few hours on a Sunday, Yuki could pretend that Tohru was his family. 

“Actually, I think I will join you.” Yuki decided, making Tohru’s face light up like a Christmas tree. 

“I’ll make plenty of food for everyone, then!” Tohru declared with a look of fiery determination in her eyes. 

“I’ll stay out of your way, then. I wouldn’t be much help.” Yuki said as he stood by the electric kettle. 

“I think you’ll be great! I’ll teach you. It isn’t that hard if you work with a friend.” Tohru replied. 

Yuki nodded and sipped his tea. Only one person really needed to know what was going on while cooking, right? They would be okay as long as Tohru knew what she was doing and what to tell him. 

Tohru had gone all out. Soon, Yuki had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, waiting for Tohru’s orders as she set a cutting board, knife, and mound of soba dough down on the countertop. 

“Have you ever cut soba before, Yuki?” Tohru asked, still smiling at him. 

“No, never.” 

“Then this will be fun! Here, I’ll show you how first.” 

Yuki stepped closer to Tohru, suddenly extremely aware of how close he was to her and how much smaller she was than him. 

Actually, Tohru was smaller than her friends, too, right? Were her friends just tall or was she shorter than average for a girl? He’d have to ask later when it wouldn’t sound weird or out of place. 

“We want to cut the noodles so they’re nice and thin. They’ll get thicker when they’re cooked, so we need them thin. Otherwise, they’ll be kind of chewy and more like udon. Okay?” Tohru guided, cutting the first few slices to show Yuki about how thin to cut. 

“Alright.” Yuki nodded. Surely he could handle cutting the dough. 

Tohru smiled at him and went to work on cutting her own vegetables. Yuki looked down at the thin slices she’d made and worked slowly and carefully to copy them while making sure not to chop his own fingers off. 

“I think I’m done.” He said a few minutes later. 

Tohru looked up and walked over to look over his cutting board. “They look great! Thank you, Yuki!” She replied with a happy grin. 

Yuki couldn’t help but feel intensely proud of himself. Not only had he managed to do a little bit of cooking for himself, but he’d done it well. Feeling more awake, and more confident in whatever cooking ability he had, Yuki kept close to the girl. 

“Do you need help with anything else?” he asked. 

“I do, actually. Can you help me bread the karaage? Then, we can decorate the house a little bit before Uo and Hana come over.” Tohru replied. 

“Okay. What do I need to do?” Yuki asked. 

Tohru happily and patiently walked Yuki through the process of breading the chicken. All her words were soft and gentle and she was quick to praise the things he did well and help him with the things he didn’t. 

Yuki watched the smaller girl work as she showed him how to bread the chicken perfectly. She was so nice and sweet to him, but it wasn’t as if she was doing it out of pity. It felt more like she really and truly cared about him. He silently made an oath to never do anything that might make her change her mind about him. He couldn’t imagine living in a world where Tohru didn’t like him. 

Yuki did as she showed him, smiling contently as she complimented his technique. Maybe he really could do this cooking thing after all. Maybe he could continue to practice and work hard and, one day, he’d be able to be completely self-sufficient and live on his own. He could make his own food and never need to rely on his family for anything else. 

He wished Tohru was his family. 

If only he’d been born as her brother. He wondered how different he would be if that was his life instead. He’d probably be an even better version of himself. He’d probably be more confident and happy all the time. He’d probably like himself. He definitely wouldn’t be cursed. He could hug Tohru whenever he wanted to thank her for how wonderful she was to him.

“That looks perfect, Yuki! Thank you!” Tohru gushed when he finished with the chicken. “I think Kyo and Shigure underestimated you, you know. You can cook if you just know how to.” 

Yuki smiled softly at that. “Thank you.” he replied, genuinely happy.

“I’m going to wash my hands and get some paper, but maybe you can help me make paper snowflakes and paper chains to decorate a bit.” Tohru said, smiling back at him. 

“Alright. Though, I don’t think I’ve made either of those since I was little.” Yuki replied. 

“It’ll be fun, then! A blast from the past!” Tohru said, grinning brightly at him. 

“I guess so.” Yuki hummed.

He took a seat at the warm kotatsu and watched as Tohru rummaged around before returning with construction paper, scissors, and some tape. 

“Okay! I think this is everything we need.” She hummed, sitting down next to him. 

Yuki nodded and took a piece of paper, trying to remember exactly how to make a paper snowflake. It had been almost a decade since the last paper snowflake he’d made. He was sure you needed to fold it up first. Then, he was pretty sure there was a special way to cut it to make the designs, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it was. 

“I always loved Christmas when I was little. Mom would always get us fried chicken on the way home from work and we’d sit and eat and watch TV. Then I’d open my presents from her and go to bed.” Tohru hummed as she worked on cutting her paper. “There was one year when I was a kid that I really wanted one specific doll. But I didn’t think I would get it because every time I’d go to the store to point it out to Mom, it was never there. I didn’t think she’d know which one I really wanted. But then, on Christmas, I unwrapped my presents and there was the doll! I asked Mama how she knew, but she said it was a secret.” 

Yuki listened to the story attentively as he tried to cut his paper like Tohru. She unfolded her paper to reveal an intricately patterned paper snowflake. On cue, Yuki opened his paper to compare, revealing that he’d accidentally made a chain of paper people rather than a snowflake. 

Tohru blinked at that before starting to laugh behind her hand. “Did you mean to do that?” she giggled. 

“No, I thought I was cutting a snowflake,” Yuki replied honestly, confusion written across his face. 

“Well, it’s perfect.” Tohru hummed. “I’ll get some markers and we can draw scarves and hats on them and make them Christmas people.” 

Yuki smiled and nodded. Someone else probably would have called him weird or dumb. Tohru just giggled and played along. He took a marker from her when she got back and got to work by her side as they decorated and drew on the paper people.

“They’re so cute!” Tohru gushed when the last person had been drawn in. She pointed to one with a smiling face and little mittens on. “This one can be you.” 

“That’s me?” Yuki asked as he sipped his tea. 

“Mmhmm.” Tohru nodded. “I’m this one in the pink holding your hand. Because I’m with you even if we’re paper.” 

Yuki felt his face flush bright red at the words. Tohru just giggled and hugged him tightly, only realizing what she’d done when Yuki had reappeared as a small grey rat buried in a pile of clothes. 

“I’m sorry!” She said. “I’m so sorry! I just wasn’t thinking, I guess. It just felt right in the moment.” 

“It’s okay.” Yuki reassured her. 

The hug, even though he could only enjoy the warm embrace for an instant, had been perfect. It was tight and warm and secure. He could have stayed there for hours, just being held and listening as the girl praised him for his tiny culinary feats. Tohru stayed with him as they waited for him to turn back, which thankfully came just as the doorbell rang. 

“Oh! That’s Uo and Hana. I’ll try to stall them so you can change.” Tohru said, covering her eyes with her hands to give the now nude Yuki a sense of privacy. 

“Alright, thank you,” Yuki replied, waiting until she’d left the room to stand up and pull on his pants. 

He listened as Tohru greeted her friends and let Arisa and Saki into the house. He quickly pulled on and straightened out his sweater and hair before the pair of girls walked into the room. 

“Huh? The Prince is joining us?” The blonde girl asked as they got to the kotatsu. 

“Yuki’s never had a proper Christmas before, so I told him he could join,” Tohru explained cautiously. “I hope you don’t mind.” 

“Nah. Just don’t eat all the karaage, pretty boy,” Arisa said with a small smile to Yuki. 

“I didn’t intend to,” Yuki replied.

Tohru took care of the cooking and, when the food was done, Yuki helped her bring everything over to the table for them all to eat. When the food was set out and everything was ready, he took a spot at the table. 

Sure, a big Christmas meal with Tohru and her two friends he didn’t know so well was awkward. Considerably awkward. In fact, he had half a mind to retreat to the familiar comfort of his bedroom. 

But, then, Tohru looked over at him with a big smile, and her face was so bright and warm. It was like he was sitting next to the sun, and he couldn’t imagine ever even thinking about moving. If that dinner was anything like a normal family meal at Christmas, then he had to have been given the strangest family ever. Yuki would take it gladly. 


End file.
